(Credit: Netflix)

No one talks about The Age of Innocence the way they talk about Scorsese’s other films, which is strange, because it might be the one that says the most about him. Everyone remembers the gangsters and guilt, but very few people appreciate the slowness and, of course, cleaner clothes. Well, if you are done with your dose of action and crime for this week, let us tell you what makes this film a perfect Saturday night watch.

The Age of Innocence is set in 1870s New York, which was a world where social status decided everything, starting from who you marry to how you speak and even what kind of flowers you can send someone without causing a scandal.

Daniel Day-Lewis plays Newland Archer, a man who wants to be honourable but cannot stop wanting something he shouldn’t. Michelle Pfeiffer, as Ellen Olenska, is the reason he can’t breathe straight anymore. She is not wild or rebellious in the traditional way, but rather an honest woman in a world that punishes honesty.

But if you have a notion that since it’s not a crime film, Scorsese might have shot it with less intensity, then you cannot be more wrong. Every look, every dinner, every bit of etiquette is filmed like it could explode. The dialogue is tight, and the silences… even tighter. Nobody yells in the film or throws anything, yet you feel like you are watching lives collapse.

What makes it such a good Saturday night watch is that it gives you lots of drama silently. All it demands of you is to sink into the pace and the beauty of colours and performances. Saturday has always been widely recognised as the perfect holiday because when you wake up in the morning, you still have a Sunday left. On one such day, you won’t mind watching something completely brainless, but something that matters.

And now that Netflix has started work on a new adaptation of The Age of Innocence, there’s no better time to revisit this masterpiece. Scorsese’s version still feels untouchable, as it is so layered and quite careful with its characters. Before the remake tries to modernise it, it’s worth seeing how much power the original holds.

Moreover, it is the perfect October film. Everyone is busy talking about horror, but this movie has its own, unique ghost story. In simpler words, it is about the people who haunt each other while still alive.

The world that we live in today – what haunts people more than ghosts is the love that lingers after everyone’s moved on. And don’t think that the film is not romantic. It sure is, but it’s also frightening because of the idea that your life can look perfect and still feel like a cage.

Another fun thing about the film is the way Scorsese got really meticulous while making it. He had every detail designed from scratch, starting with the silverware, the fabrics, and the way people held their forks just to make sure it all looked right. You can laugh at the obsession, but that’s exactly why the film feels so complete. It’s not a period piece pretending to be old; it’s a world built to show how obsession with rules can destroy the people who worship them.

By the end, nothing explodes, nobody wins, and you’re left sitting there wondering how something so quiet can feel this big. That’s the trick of The Age of Innocence. It makes restraint look cinematic. And for a Saturday night, that’s all you really need.